Ellen von Unwerth
Ellen von Unwerth (* 1954 in Frankfurt am Main ) is a German photographer .
Life
She spent her childhood and youth in an orphanage in the Allgäu . At the age of 16 she went to Munich , where she booked a photographer for a photoshoot for Bravo magazine . There she was discovered by the head of the modeling agency Elite , who brought her to Paris in 1975 and made her a top model.
During a 1986 fashion production in Kenya , she borrowed a camera and photographed local children. These shots were later published in the French fashion magazine Jill , and in her the decision to become a photographer matured, even though she had no appropriate training. She had her first success with commissioned work for the French Elle , where she was supposed to photograph a model for an advertising campaign for the jeans label Guess . Her choice fell on Claudia Schiffer , who was only 17 and resembled the young Brigitte Bardot .
Her work is strongly influenced by her role model, Helmut Newton . Her pictures are characterized by a cool eroticism . She published u. a. in Vogue , iD and Vanity Fair and published her own photo books “Wicked” and “Revenge”. In 1991 she won first prize at the International Festival of Fashion Photography.
Her models included u. a. Estella Warren , Eva Herzigová , Kate Moss , Nadja Auermann , Naomi Campbell , Catherine Deneuve and Mylène Farmer ; She also photographed world stars such as Rihanna , Christina Aguilera , Britney Spears and Madonna . Unwerth has also directed short films for fashion designers, as well as music videos for Duran Duran , Salt'N'Pepa and others. Today Ellen von Unwerth lives and works in Paris and New York.
Exhibitions
- 2002 reality-check , 2nd Triennial of Photography, Hamburg / "Archeology of Elegance", Deichtorhallen , Hamburg
- 2003 Ellen von Unwerth - Revenge . Camera Work , Berlin
- 2011 Ellen von Unwerth. Berlin at night . NRW Forum , Düsseldorf
- 2012 Ellen von Unwerth: The Story of Olga , CWC Gallery , Berlin
- 2014 Ellen von Unwerth: Secret Service , Preiss Fine Arts, Vienna
Publications
- Snaps . Twin Plus Publications, 1994, ISBN 0-944092292 .
- Couples . Munich 2006. ISBN 3-823803670 .
- Wicked 1999. ISBN 3-888148995 .
- Revenge 2003. ISBN 1-931885141 .
- Miss . Taschen, Cologne 2009. ISBN 978-3-8365-1477-4 .
- The Players 2010. ISBN 978-3-941396012 .
- The Story of Olga , Taschen, Cologne 2012, ISBN 978-3-8365-3980-7 .
literature
- "Beauty makes you feel good" ... , interview of the photographer with Geraldine Oetken, in: Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung of February 7, 2019, p. 28
Web links
- Literature by and about Ellen von Unwerth in the catalog of the German National Library
- Ellen von Unwerth in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Unworthy, Ellen von |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German photographer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1954 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Frankfurt am Main |